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Anxiety Français
disorders Русский
8 September 2025
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Key facts
Anxiety disorders are the world’s most
common mental disorders, affecting 359
million people in 2021.
More women are affected by anxiety
disorders than men.
Symptoms of anxiety often have onset
during childhood or adolescence.
There are highly effective treatments for
anxiety disorders.
Approximately 1 in 4 people with anxiety
disorders receive treatment for this
condition.
Overview
Everyone can feel anxious sometimes, but
people with anxiety disorders often
experience fear and worry that is both
intense and excessive. These feelings are
typically accompanied by physical tension
and other behavioural and cognitive
symptoms. They are di!cult to control,
cause significant distress and can last a long
time if untreated. Anxiety disorders interfere
with daily activities and can impair a person’s
family, social and school or working life.
An estimated 4.4% of the global population
currently experience an anxiety disorder (1).
In 2021, 359 million people in the world had
an anxiety disorder, making anxiety
disorders the most common of all mental
disorders (1).
Although highly e#ective treatments for
anxiety disorders exist, only about 1 in 4
people in need (27.6%) receive any
treatment (2). Barriers to care include lack of
awareness that this is a treatable health
condition, lack of investment in mental
health services, lack of trained health-care
providers, and social stigma.
Symptoms and
patterns
People with an anxiety disorder may
experience excessive fear or worry about a
specific situation (for example, a panic attack
or social situation) or, in the case of
generalized anxiety disorder, about a broad
range of everyday situations. They typically
experience these symptoms over an
extended period – at least several months.
Usually they avoid the situations that make
them anxious.
Other symptoms of anxiety disorders may
include:
trouble concentrating or making
decisions
feeling irritable, tense or restless
experiencing nausea or abdominal
distress
having heart palpitations
sweating, trembling or shaking
trouble sleeping
having a sense of impending danger,
panic or doom.
Anxiety disorders increase the risk for
depression and substance use disorders as
well as the risk of suicidal thoughts and
behaviours.
There are several di#erent kinds of anxiety
disorders, including:
generalized anxiety disorder (persistent
and excessive worry about daily activities
or events);
panic disorder (panic attacks and fear of
continued panic attacks);
social anxiety disorder (high levels of
fear and worry about social situations
that might make the person feel
humiliated, embarrassed or rejected);
agoraphobia (excessive fear, worry and
avoidance of situations that might cause
a person to panic or feel trapped,
helpless or embarrassed);
separation anxiety disorder (excessive
fear or worry about being separated from
people with whom the person has a deep
emotional bond);
specific phobias (intense, irrational fears
of specific objects or situations that lead
to avoidance behaviour and significant
distress); and
selective mutism (consistent inability to
speak in certain social situations, despite
the ability to speak comfortably in other
settings, primarily affecting children).
People may experience more than one
anxiety disorder at the same time.
Symptoms often begin during childhood or
adolescence and continue into adulthood.
Girls and women are more likely to
experience an anxiety disorder than boys
and men.
Contributing factors
and prevention
Anxiety disorders, like other mental health
conditions, result from a complex interaction
of social, psychological and biological
factors. Anyone can have an anxiety disorder,
but people who have lived through abuse,
severe losses or other adverse experiences
are more likely to develop one.
Anxiety disorders are closely related to and
a#ected by physical health. Many of the
impacts of anxiety (such as physical tension,
nervous system hyperactivity or harmful use
of alcohol) are also known risk factors for
diseases such as cardiovascular disease. In
turn, people with these diseases may also
find themselves experiencing anxiety
disorders due to the di!culties associated
with managing their conditions.
E#ective community-based approaches to
prevent anxiety include parental education
and school-based programmes to enhance
social and emotional learning and build
positive coping in children and adolescents.
Exercise programmes can also be e#ective in
preventing anxiety disorders in adults.
Diagnosis and
treatment
There are several e#ective treatments for
anxiety disorders. People with symptoms of
anxiety should seek care.
Psychological interventions are essential
treatments for anxiety disorders and refer
primarily to talk therapy with professionals
or supervised lay therapists. These
interventions can help people learn new
ways of thinking, coping or relating to their
anxiety, to others or to the world. They can
teach people how to face the situations,
events, people or places that trigger their
anxiety.
Psychological interventions can be provided
to individuals or groups, in person or online.
They may also be accessed through self-help
manuals, websites and apps. The
psychological interventions with the most
evidence for treating a range of anxiety
disorders are those based on principles of
cognitive-behavioural therapy. These include
exposure therapy, during which people learn
to face their fears.
In addition, learning stress management
skills, such as relaxation skills and
mindfulness skills, can help reduce
symptoms of anxiety disorders.
Antidepressant medications, such as
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
(SSRIs), can also be useful in treating adults
with anxiety disorders. Health-care providers
should keep in mind the possible adverse
e#ects associated with antidepressant
medication, the ability to deliver either
intervention (in terms of expertise, and/or
treatment availability), and individual
preferences.
Benzodiazepines, which have historically
been prescribed for anxiety disorders, are
generally not recommended for anxiety
disorders because of their high potential for
dependence as well as their limited long-
term e#ectiveness.
Self-care
Self-care can play an important role in
supporting treatment. To help manage your
symptoms of anxiety and promote your
overall well-being, you can:
avoid or cut down on alcohol and don’t
use illicit drugs, which can make anxiety
worse;
exercise regularly, even if it’s just a short
walk;
stick to regular eating and sleeping
habits as much as possible and eat a
healthy diet;
learn relaxation techniques, such as slow
breathing and progressive muscle
relaxation; and
develop the habit of mindfulness
meditation, even if it’s just a few minutes
per day.
WHO response
